Semper Tuus Ero
by Gater101
Summary: Five Christmas Eve's of Atlantis we never got to experience.


Title: Semper Tuus Ero  
Summary: The five Christmas Eve's of Atlantis  
Characters: John, Teyla, Rodney, Ronon & Torren  
Pairing: John/Teyla  
Rating: K

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Year One

The first year, Christmas passes by pretty much unnoticed. Maybe a few people exchange seasonal greetings – even fewer exchange gifts and there's a heat wave that doesn't seem to want to relent any time in the near future. No one makes it home to their families and no one wants to experience the loneliness of making Christmas on Atlantis.

So John holds his own private Christmas Eve midnight service and pays his respects to those who have already fallen.

Year Two

There's more of a kafuffle the second year because they finally, _finally _make contact with Earth. Caldwell brings frozen turkeys and even some frozen sprouts and the cooks from the canteen whip together something resembling cranberry sauce from the berries collected from the mainland. The anthropological department ropes in the Athosian kids and there's a few decorations here and there; there's even something resembling a Christmas tree erected in the control room with bells that jingle every time someone passes by it.

There's more of a festive feel in the air but John still celebrated alone.

Year Three

Teyla drags him out to the far pier where she, Ronon and Rodney have put together some kind of dinner from the supplies that Caldwell brought. John comments on the fluorescent decorations and Ronon grins proudly, telling them that he managed to talk some of the scientists into making them for him. Rodney grumbles that they will probably give them cancer but they shrug and his Scrooge-like demeanour and settle into the small table and tuck into the food in front of them.

At midnight, he holds the same service that he always had, only this time his team join him.

Year Four

He doubts FedEx delivers to the Pegasus Galaxy, even with the intergalactic gate bridge so John gives Carter his list of supplies and she asks her sources on Earth (i.e. Vala) to pick the things up and have them transported through with the next batch of supplies. He wonders how he will manage to sneak them out of the gate room without Teyla and the others noticing their presence but he's not the commander of Atlantis for nothing and the boxes make their way to his quarters unnoticed.

It's the first year he's thought to buy a gift for anyone and a part of him thinks it's strange that he's buying a gift for someone he hasn't even met yet. But there's going to be a kid on Atlantis come Christmas and John'd rather be shot than let his first Christmas go by without some kind of acknowledgement.

The final packages arrive the day before Christmas Eve and despite his best efforts at secrecy, he has to ask Ronon for his help in moving some of the stuff.

On Christmas Eve, when Teyla sees the nursery they've built for her son, she thanks them all but John knows she clings to him for longer than she does the others.

Year Five

John perches uncomfortably on his haunches, holding his arms out as Torren hobbles towards him around the presents that litter the floor. The munchkin trips over a stray ribbon and John catches him just as Teyla comes back with more presents and sets them under the tree. Rodney and Ronon aren't far behind and John smirks when he sees the Santa Sack that Rodney carries over his shoulder.

At midnight, once Torren has finally settled down and is sound asleep in his crib, John shuffles uncomfortably from foot to foot as he fiddles with the gift in his hand. It's the first time he's given a Christmas gift to a woman since Nancy.

She comes and he mumbles some words, incoherent and gibberish, and thrusts the expertly wrapped gift into Teyla's surprised hands. She watches him for a second then smiles slowly, looking down as she carefully unwraps the box.

The Robin's egg green is familiar to him and as he watches her eyes widen he knows it is somehow familiar to her, too. She takes out the ring and he drops to one knee, even as she nods her answer. He grins and kisses her.

Before she slides the ring on her finger, he shows her the engraving on the inside and when he tells her what it means and why he chose Latin, her eyes water but she doesn't cry.

_Semper tuus ero._

He is hers.


End file.
